Coffee Interlude
by stingslikeabee
Summary: AU. Rachel Berry is a waitress at a diner in the city. She also studies part time. Quinn is a tired artist who's in a slump. She comes to the diner every night, never saying a thing and never staying for long.Faberry centric and mostly from Rachel's perspective though it's written in third person. It's pretty fluffy.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** The girlfriend is the real talent with coming up with certain plots and story lines. I just convert them to Faberry.

Just a word, if you follow and read my stuff, you'd know most (all) of my stories are unfinished. Mostly because I had wanted to make them long without any sort of plan to get there. So before you judge me more and think this is another one that won't finish...it's a short one! I have everything planned from start to finish.

**Please review! I know it's short but whatever. Hope you like it.  
**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. **

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You would have thought she'd be used to the weather by now but after almost two years, she still cocks her head in confusion when the rain comes pouring down out of nowhere. It was a quiet night in the diner, though what else was she expecting at one in the morning with this downpour.

Rachel Berry was tucked comfortably by the cash register, flipping through an outdated magazine she found in the back. It had been a long week for the aspiring songstress, her classes lately were taking it out of her and the night shifts at the diner were not making it any easier. As she absentmindedly scanned random articles, Rachel heard the overbearing ding of the counter bell screech from behind her.

"Order up!"

She heaved a slight sigh as she put her magazine away and walked towards the kitchen's window.

"Seriously, Noah, there is no need to shout," Rachel says to the diner's cook, who happened to be one of her best friends in the city. "We barely have any customers tonight!" She walked off with the plate of burger and fries in hand, not before hearing the throaty chuckle of her friend.

"Sorry, princess, sometimes the Puckster gets too excited over something to do," came the reply. The brunette set the plate down with a smile before making her way back behind the counter. "Besides, it helps me keep awake in this shit hole! The rain isn't helping either. I could actually fall asleep on a stove I'm so tired."

Rachel let out a soft giggle with a shake of her head as she once again got settled with her magazine. It wasn't long until the bell up front, one that had a much more pleasurable sound than the last one, jingled signaling a customer. Her eyes made their way to the familiar figure of a blonde wrapped up in warm clothes. Well, they were warm but had seemed to slightly dampen from the rain outside. Rachel scrunched her face in confusion at the girl. It was the fourth night in a row she had shown up at around this time of the night. She'd go to the same booth, sit on the same side, and stay for around an hour before getting up and leaving.

Every night, the waitress would serve her a cup of coffee. She just looked so exhausted. But the blonde wouldn't even touch it; she would pay for the cup but had yet to drink a single sip. However tired she looked though, Rachel couldn't deny the obvious beauty the shorthaired woman possessed. She may or may not have had a slight crush on this mystery girl.

Before she could get caught staring, Rachel decided to just continue on with their little routine. Though honestly, being Rachel Barbra Berry, she itching to ask the blonde as to why she was here all the time and why she looked like she went for days without sleep. She picked up a fresh pot and a clean cup, silently placing them in front of said girl.

Rachel tried to establish some sort of eye contact, taking her time pouring the hot drink, but the woman simply stared out the window and ignored her. Acknowledging that she would get nowhere with her customer tonight, Rachel proceeded to mind her own business and settled herself back by the counter.

From her vantage point, the waitress pretended to read her magazine all the while studying the mysterious night visitor. She would see her close her eyes and sigh every once in awhile, stare at the cup of coffee, at the seat in front, out the window again without actually looking.

At this point, Rachel figured she should stop studying her seeing as it was getting pretty creepy. _Why am I always fucking staring?_ She cleared her throat and quietly hummed along to the faint music that blasted through the dated speakers of the diner. About half an hour later, while she was in the middle of a quiz of what type of shopper she is, Rachel noticed the rain had finally died down. The sound of coins clanging on a table and shuffling brought her attention in the direction of the blonde's booth.

She saw the question mark of a character get up from the booth, cup of coffee still full, and make her way to the door. Just as Rachel found the courage to say something along the lines of _have a good night_, the woman was out and the door was shut behind her.

Letting out a small sigh, she stood to clean up.

"Get her name yet?" Rachel heard from behind her. She looked over her shoulder to see Noah Puckerman leaning against the doorframe of the kitchen entryway. Bags under his eyes, mohawk somewhat flat and arms crossed over his chest, he looked at her with knowing eyes and sported a small smirk on his face.

She rolled her own half-heartedly and shook her head indicating the negative to his question. "Why not? She's smoking," he commented. "If you weren't so googly-eyed over her, I'd ask her out myself!"

Rachel smiled and simply shrugged her shoulders in reply, wishing she knew the name of the girl and hoping to see her again tomorrow night.

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**Review!**

**And if anyone wants to beta this one, let me know! I hate my writing style. **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Did I mention that I hate the title? I find it really stupid. Read and review, please! Thanks, buds. Also, thank you to my new beta, mafinyc!

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She gathered her books and pens as quickly as she could, squeezing past the students by the doorway. Glancing at the clock, Rachel growled quietly in frustration. She was going to be late for work. Taking night classes seemed like such a good idea to her, it really did. Thank god it was just for the semester because combined with work, she was beyond exhausted.

The waitress learned quite a few things about herself and the city from this grating experience. One, she's not the type to get any sleep during daytime. Two, Rachel, for the life of her, should really take up some sort of self-defense classes or at least carry some pepper spray on her key chain. The city is not some place you want to find yourself alone late at night. Ever.

Before she could manage to scare the shit out of herself (because she was in the city, at night, alone, and without pepper spray), she walked through the entryway of her beloved diner. The bell jingled and she was hit with the pungent smell of coffee and steak.

"Cutting it a bit short, aren't we, Jew babe?" She dashed to the back, putting her things away and grabbing her uniform before quickly changing in the bathroom. "As much as Sylvester loves you," she heard her friend say sarcastically. "You probably shouldn't test her."

When Rachel was done, she opened the bathroom door to stare at Puck with tired eyes. He was right of course. While Sue Sylvester didn't hate her, she would not stand for a behavior such as tardiness. She nodded dejectedly at him and punched in her time to start her shift.

It was going to be a long night.

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"I'll have the cheeseburger but could you hold the pickles? And the tomatoes and onions. Oh! Could you also switch the beef patty to chicken?" Her pen stopped mid word at that last one. With eyebrows furrowed, Rachel lifted her eyes off the notepad to the interesting character in front of her.

Though seated, the woman was quite tall and definitely toned. A body of a dancer, Rachel thought to herself. She had blue eyes and long blonde hair tied up in a neat ponytail.

"...Would you maybe like the chicken burger instead?" The brunette asked hesitantly. The girl seemed to think about it before giving Rachel a wide grin that she couldn't help but return.

"Yes, please!"

The waitress wrote the order down on a new sheet and walked over towards the kitchen after giving her customer a genuine smile.

"She's a cutie," Rachel says as she handed in the sheet of paper across the counter to Puck in the kitchen.

"Who?" She pointed with a cock of her head in the direction of the girl's table. "Oh, Brittany? Yeah, she's hot. Been there, done that."

"Ugh," Rachel replied with distaste. "Of course you did." He gave her a wiggle of his eyebrows before getting started on the meal.

The waitress was sneakily doing her week's homework behind the counter whenever she had a couple of minutes to spare during the shift. She did this occasionally when working at night. Thank God it's Friday night, she thought. While she knew she'd be taking more night shifts for a very long time (she needed the money), she didn't mind it all. Finishing up the last of her music theory assignment, she heard someone walking towards the cash register.

"Hi, Rachel!" Brittany exclaimed from the other side of the counter. She was going to ask how the dancer knew her name but remembered she had her name tag on. So she simply smiled at her in reply.

"Hello, is there something I can help you with?" The brunette asked politely.

"Just want to pay for my dinner."

"Oh, of course!" Rachel pressed all the necessary buttons and printed the receipt. "That will be $7.85."

The taller girl handed Rachel a ten-dollar bill from out of her wallet. "Keep the change!"

The brunette shouted out a loud thank you to the already retreating customer. The bell jingled, signaling her exit and after she put away the money, Rachel got up to clean the tables.

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It was half past midnight and once again, the diner was near empty save for one or two customers. Rachel was making herself busy by sweeping up the floors in the back.

Rachel heard the bell chime and after putting away the broom and straightening her apron, she made her way to the front of the diner. She smiled to herself when her eyes caught sight of the mystery girl.

Blonde hair peaked out from under her grey beanie, the leather jacket seemed a little worn for wear but Rachel had to say the girl looked good. The bags under her eyes, however, were darker than they had been the night before, her skin a little more taut .

The waitress expelled a breath of tired air from her lungs and reached for the pot of coffee and cup. She approached the booth with apprehension, as if the blonde were a ticking time bomb. Said woman was, as usual, staring out the window. Rachel summoned as much courage she could and cleared her throat.

Exhausted, beautiful hazel eyes (_oh fuck, those eyes_) focused on the brunette. Rachel couldn't read them. "Coffee?" She asked despite already having been pouring the beverage in front of her.

At the question, the blonde remained staring with a blank gaze, not giving the waitress any kind of answer. The response sparked something in the shorter girl, and not in the best of ways. _Well, that's a bit rude._ She huffed when she was once again face to face with the side profile of the girl.

Rachel turned around and walked away, with a slight stomp in her step. It wasn't until about ten minutes later, as she was wiping down the counter that she heard the click of a lighter. This was a non-smoking diner and Rachel was a stickler for rules.

With unfounded confidence, she made her way to the culprit. She opened her mouth to talk but went into a slight coughing fit from the smoke she inhaled.

"You can't smoke in here," she managed to wheeze out after she had calmed down. The blonde raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow at Rachel, and the brunette was pretty sure she felt her knees go weak at that. The waitress pointed at a nearby wall indicating the No Smoking sign.

After a beat, the mystery customer took out a few bills, put out her lit cigarette in the untouched cup of coffee and walked out the door without another glance back. Rachel stared after her with wide eyes, confusion coursing through her. And slight arousal.

She looked back down at the table and saw it. The blonde had left her lighter behind. Rachel swore she could feel her heart skip a beat when she saw the name scribbled underneath.

_Quinn F._

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**A/N: **Please review! I think I'll hold out until I reach a certain number of reviews before I put out the next chapter. Again, thank you so much my new beta, mafinyc!

I know it's a bit slow but I promise more Faberry interaction in the next chapter!


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **I know it's been awhile. I've been super busy with uni and GUESS WHO'S GOING ON EXCHANGE NEXT SEMESTER! So yeah, updates are going to be infrequent. My beta has been amazing and such a wonderful help but this chapter was updated by me last minute so mistakes are very much my own! Still, thank you so much!

**Anyway, please read and review!**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own anything.**

**EDIT: I MADE A HUGE MISTAKE RIGHT AT THE VERY END (****WHY DIDN'T ANYONE TELL ME OMG). ** SO HERE IS THE UPDATED VERSION. 

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All day Saturday Rachel found herself eating, relaxing or sleeping (she slept a lot on the weekends). She really had no idea how she managed to sleep so well considering the fact she had her crush's lighter in possession.

That little thing had felt so heavy in her pocket throughout the rest of her shift and even heavier in her hand on her way home. It rested on the island counter-top of her kitchen, just so that she wouldn't forget it on her way to work later.

Rachel figured it would be an excuse to converse with the blonde, a link for interaction between the two.

She had come up with all these possible scenarios and likely conversations she could strike up with the girl, many of which ended with at least a two-minute lecture from the waitress on social etiquette and possibly, a half-minute, give or take a few seconds, spiel on the dangers of smoking.

It was nearing the time of her shift so Rachel grabbed her purse, her keys and the forgotten lighter before making her way out the door. Living only a couple blocks away from work had its perks for sure.

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The diner was quite dead for a Saturday night. Usually they would get drunks of all kinds stumbling inside to satisfy their inebriated cravings for fast food. There were only a handful of people in and since they usually have two waitresses on duty for Saturday nights, Rachel barely had anything to do.

At least she was getting paid.

About half an hour past midnight, the waitress grew anxious for the blonde's arrival. The enigmatic blonde probably has a social life on the weekends, Rachel mused. As she chatted away with Jen, another waitress, she saw the familiar lean figure walking towards the diner.

Rachel looked at her watch and saw that it was nearing 2 in the morning.

"Rachel?" She heard the distant voice. Apparently she had been staring, again, at Quinn for a beat too long.

"Oh, sorry!" She apologized, "could you repeat that?"

Jen gave an amused chuckle before looking over her shoulder to where Rachel had been gawking. "Do you know her?"

"I wish," was the breathy reply.

More customers came in at that moment so Jen set out to work, offering Rachel a chance to try and talk with the blonde if she were ever to come in.

Rachel watched as Quinn settled by the diner's window, wondering why she wouldn't come inside. When she managed to make eye contact with the blonde, Rachel gestured for her to come in. Or she hoped that's what she was doing; Rachel probably ended up looking like she was swatting away imaginary flies from her face.

She watched as her lips twitched upwards into a smirk, '_oh fuck' _Rachel whispered to herself, and pulled out a cigarette. She placed the end tip of the stick between her lips, all the while remaining their eye contact. Rachel's body was literally humming with arousal.

But as Quinn patted herself down for her lighter, the waitress gained a mischievous grin. She reached into her pocket and pulled out what the blonde was looking for.

The girl let out a half-hearted sigh at the sight of her lighter in the brunette's hand. She placed the cigarette behind her ear and made her way inside towards her regular booth. Rachel pocketed the lighter, grabbed a pot of coffee and two cups. That's right. Two cups.

The blonde was preoccupied settling into her seat and hadn't realized the waitress had poured coffee in both cups.

With all the confidence the diva could muster, she asked as she took a seat across her, "So I'm guessing you're Quinn?"

Hazel eyes focused on Rachel and she could feel the blush rising up her neck. She saw the blonde's gaze flick downwards before settling back into Rachel's own brown pair.

"I think you have something of mine, Rachel," came the husked reply. The waitress could swear that she had never heard anything as sexy as Quinn's voice. And her name sounded like heaven coming from those lips.

"I- uh, I suppose I d-do," she stuttered uncharacteristically. The person across her sported an amused smirk, clearly finding Rachel's demure entertaining.

A moment of silence descended upon the pair. Though it wasn't an uncomfortable or an awkward one. Their intense gazes gave in when Rachel broke it to take a sip of her drink. Well, this was not going according to plan. She watched the blonde watch her before clearing her throat.

"So," she began, "are you not a fan of coffee?"

Quinn's head cocked slightly at the question. "What makes you say that?"

Instead of replying, Rachel looked pointedly at the untouched cup of coffee.

"Right, well," the blond began. "I am quite the caffeine addict, actually." She paused and huffed slightly, shoulders slumping by just a fraction. "I haven't been sleeping well at all lately, so I figured coffee really wouldn't help."

Explains the attitude from last night, Rachel concluded. She figured she could put her lecture on the back-burner for now.

"I want to apologize for last night too, by the way," Quinn said as if she had read Rachel's mind. "I was just out of it, my mind was all over the place." The brunette gave a small smile and waved off the apology.

"But you always pay for it," Rachel commented, bringing the conversation back to the coffee. The blonde shrugged lightly in response. "You really don't have to, what would you prefer to drink?"

Quinn didn't reply, instead she leaned back against the booth and gazed at the waitress. Rachel could see swirls of exhaustion and something else she couldn't quite interpret.

"So, Rachel, what else do you do besides waitressing?"

"I'm a student, majoring in theater."

The blonde quirked her eyebrow in curiosity, "So you sing?"

"Sing, dance and act actually," was the proud reply.

"Impressive."

"What about you, Quinn?"

The blonde's eyes pointed downwards at the question, it did not go unnoticed by the waitress.

"I, um, I study art," she began as she fiddled with her lighter, "I paint." Rachel's eyes widened slightly at the answer but figured it made sense after having remembered seeing spots of paint on the blonde's boots before.

"That's wonderful, Quinn!" Rachel commented with enthusiasm. She left it at that because Quinn looked a bit gloomy after answering. Just when she was about to change the subject, Quinn continued.

"Yeah but recently, I… I don't know," the blonde sighed, "I've been in a slump."

"How do you mean?"

"No motivation. No inspiration," she replied tiredly. "Pretty sure it has to do with the lack of sleep. Before then, I was doing a lot of portraits."

There was something in the way she said it that peaked Rachel's interest. But she saved that information for another time and tried to ask as nicely as possible, "When was the last time you slept?"

"Noticed the unattractive bags under my eyes, huh?" Quinn replied with some amusement. "Probably four hours within the last couple days."

"That can't be healthy," Rachel said, her voice laced with concern.

Quinn simply hummed in agreement before reaching into her pocket. "Do you work tomorrow night too?" She asked as she took out a few bills.

"No, I get Sundays off," the waitress answered, getting up to clear the table. "Please keep your money, you didn't even touch your cup."

The blonde just shot her a smile but left the money on the table anyway as she stood to head out for the night.

Though a bit bummed to see her go, it was getting late. "Try to get some sleep, Quinn." She turned her back to the taller girl when she heard the bell go, gathering the coffee mugs.

"You know, I used to get served chocolate milkshakes here," she heard from right by the entryway. "One of the best drinks ever but it's not actually on your menu and the lady who used to offer them no longer works here for some reason."

Once she had collected the things from the table, Rachel spun to reply that she knew whom she was talking about but was met with the clear glass door and no Quinn.

"She does that too often," she huffed quietly to herself before rushing to put away the dirty dishes. Rachel grabbed her phone and hit speed dial 4.

"Hello?"

"Sugar! I need your help."

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**A/N: AGAIN: CORRECTED A HUGE MISTAKE. Wrong name. I am so sorry.  
**

**Welp. Hope you liked the chapter. I know it's not long but whatever. **

**I'd like to let you guys know that I don't deal well with hate mail. Or flames. Or whatever the term is for harsh reviews. Just putting it out there. **

**That being said, please review anyway.**


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